Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-02-24

'St. Valentine's Day looks out at us
from the dim shadow of the temples OF
Rome" answered Mrs. Wilcox, land
the customs of the day, like many other
customs, some Of which are sacred to
the Christian church, dates to the heroic
days of that pagan city. Only the day
had another name then. They called it
the festival of the Lupercal. and when
the day came round, which occurred in
the middle of February, there was great
stir and boisterous mirth among the
young folks of the imperial city.
Among other customs the Roman lads
and maidens wrote their names upon
tablets which were drawn by lot from a
box, and the couples thus thrown to-
gether were supposed to be attentive
to each other for certain season.
Presents of jewelry, flowers and other
trif1es dear to the hearts of the Roman
maids were given by the young men.
and doubtless suitable returns were
made. There is no doubt the little
olive-colored Italian boys and girls en-
joyed the day quite as much as modern
children do the fourteenth of February
| now"
"Why did they call it the Lupercal
and not st. Valentines Day?" in
quired Dura. Il think Valentine
much the prettier name"
''Lupercal was the day sacred to
their false god Lupercus, whom they
imagined to preside over fertility. st.
Valentine was not known then nor for
many years after. When Christianity
became the prevailing religion, the
church made an effort to abolish the
heather feast, which, by that time.
had become mere expression of gal
lantry, but, finding this quite futile.
another name was given to it, and, as
one of the early martyrs had his
birthday OH the fourteenth, they very
appropriately selected him. This was
st. Valentine, a Bishop or Presbyter
who suffered martyrdom about two
hundred and seventy years after our
Saviour's time. He is spoken of in
the early church histories as a very
good, gentle and benevolent man. l
can not help thinking that the good
Bishop would be surprised at some of
the customs by which his name is per-
petuated.
during the middle ages there was
a prevalent notion among the country
people that this was the day on which
birds selected their mates, and at one
time it was the custom for young folks
to go out before daylight on that MORN
ing, and try to catch an owl and two
sparrows in net. If they succeeded,
it was a good omen, and entitled them
to gifts from the villagers. Another
fashion was to write the valentine, tie
it to an apple or orange. and steal upto
the house of the chosen one in the even
ing, open the door quietly and throw it
in.
"The drOllest valentine l ever heard
of belongs to those old times in En-
gland, and consisted of the rib of a
small animal. wrapped in white satin
ribbon. which was tied in true lovers
knots in several places. This elegant
and suggestive gift was sent to bach
elor, accompanied with verses, some of
which are not superior to those on
Dura's valentines. Here is one that
remember:
Go, contemplate this lovely sign.
Haste thee away to Reasons shrine,
And listen to her voice;
mo more Elusive shades pursue.
To happiness this gives the clue,
Make but a prudent choice.
Till Adam had a partner given,
Much as fair Eden bloom'd like heaven;
His bliss was incomplete;
NO social friend these joys to share,
Gave the gay scene q vacant air;
She came-'twas all replete"
which was nothing to be desired, I'm
sure
The children laughed merrily at the
idea of the rib and the verses. lit